A Glorious Guide to Salads

Do you ever find yourself in front of the salad bar at Westside in a panic? When asked what ingredients you want in your bowl, do you freeze up and have a wave of anxiety roll over you? Salads – such a simple concept, but the amount of variations is endless.

Since salads are a great option for a meal, an addition to a meal, or a snack, we’ve created two guides: one for ordering salads at Westside (or another supermarket), and one for buying ingredients to make your own delicious salads in your room or suite.

At Westside (and many other supermarkets), they weigh your salad and you pay by weight. It’s important to consider what ingredients weigh more, and will therefore increase the cost of your salad. Here’s a list of what ingredients weigh relatively little and what ingredients weigh a lot (and could increase the cost of your salad):

Heavier Ingredients

Lighter Ingredients

Eggs / Eggs Whites

Cucumbers

Avocados

Chickpeas

Pineapple

Onions

Apple Slices

Carrots

Cheese Cubes

Peppers

Chicken Slices

Tomatoes

Beans

Walnuts

Strawberries

Almonds

Noodles

Corn

Potatoes

Blueberries

Grapes

Cranberries

Orange Slices

Mushrooms

Extra Dressing

Quinoa

Green Beans

Fish

No more confusion at Westside!

Mix it up! Order a few ingredients from both of these lists to get a really nice mixture of different types of foods in your salad. Don’t stick with just the lighter items because you’re worried about price, adding one or two heavier ingredients can really make a salad delicious.

Personally, I believe that if you’re going to have salad as a meal, you shouldn’t worry as much about the weight and price because you’re going to want heavier ingredients in the salad. For example, you want ingredients with protein (like egg whites) if you’re having your salad as lunch or dinner. If you’re having the salad just as a side, it’s smart to just choose lighter ingredients.

A quick tip about dressing: having the supermarket add dressing to your salad will also increase its weight. If you are a frequent Westside salad-eater, consider buying a bottle of your favorite dressing and storing it in your fridge to add to your salad when you get back to your dorm.

Buying The Ingredients and Making Your Own Salad

Type of Lettuce

Fruits & Veggies

Protein

Classic Walnut and Goat Cheese Salad:

Spinach

Apple Slices, Grapes

Walnuts, Goat Cheese

Protein Salad:

Mixed Greens

Avocado Slices, Corn

Kidney Beans, Walnuts, Shredded Cheese

Fruit Salad:

Mixed Greens

Orange Slices, Pineapple, Blueberries, Strawberries

Almonds

Other Yummy Combos:

Spinach

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Corn, Mushrooms

Tofu, Chickpeas

Romaine

Carrots, Cucumbers, Onion, Peppers

Egg Whites

Mixed Greens

Green Beans, Avocado, Cucumbers, Peppers

Quinoa

Molly Scott is a junior at Barnard and Senior Editor for The Nine Ways of Knowing.